


Precious oathkeeper

by NicoleCollard



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Post-Season/Series 07
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-03
Updated: 2017-10-03
Packaged: 2019-01-08 09:46:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12251868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NicoleCollard/pseuds/NicoleCollard
Summary: Brienne arrives at Winterfell after the meeting at the Dragonpit and there she gets some bad news. But she never loses hope.





	Precious oathkeeper

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, fellow J/B shippers. I wanted to contribute to the JB week, but I'm not very good at imagining different scenarios and I don't have much time these days, so I just wrote this little story where I tried to mention all the precious materials we were prompted with.
> 
> I hope you like it!

It was incredibly cold at Winterfell. Pod and Brienne had arrived that very noon from King's Landing. The journey had been too hard due to the merciless weather, but since it had been only the two of them, they had travelled fast.

They had been granted immediate access to Winterfell and Brienne hadn't lost any time to make a full report to Lady Sansa. She had told the Stark girl everything about the Dragonpit meeting: about the Targaryen Queen and her dragons, about the wight, about Jon Snow's innocent honesty, about Lord Tyrion being the hand of the rebel Queen, about Cersei's promise of sending her army to defend North.

Lady Sansa had listened to Brienne's words with an air of maturity so unlike her young age. She was the true lady of Winterfell, Brienne had thought. When the Maid of Tarth had mentioned Cersei's pledge, Sansa had narrowed her eyes slightly. She didn't trust the Queen at all. If Cersei was really sending the Lannister army North, there must be something dirty in the matter. She must be plotting something very smart for her own benefit.

Brienne had left her to look for something to eat and make herself as much as home as she could. The days were more and more dark as time passed, so when she reached the top of Winterfell crenels in the evening to look at the horizon, it was too difficult to make out the surroundings that lay at her feet. Not even the moon had showed up that night. The clouds were too thick to let the bright **silver** light reach the ground. The Maid of Tarth was determined to be the first to spot the Lannister army. Of course, she wasn't going to confess it to anyone, not even to herself, but she was looking forward to catching a glimpse of **gold** in the distance.

After the Dragonpit events, Brienne had slapped herself mentally a lot of times. She had tried to slap some sense into Jaime Lannister's mind, but it had turned out to be impossible. The man was his sister's entirely. His last exchange with Brienne had been so hurtful that it had made the Maid feel incredibly sad, disappointed and deceived. What else would have to happen for Jaime to realise what he was standing for? Now Brienne was sure that he would never leave Cersei. He was her puppet, her pet, and everybody knew. Everybody but him, because he seemed to be comfortable with the situation.

Brienne sighed. And, despite all this, there she was, standing behind the battlements, waiting for the Lannister army to arrive just because Queen Cersei had promised to send it North with Jaime at the head.

Two more days passed and Brienne kept on climbing the stony stairs that led to the crenels and towers whenever her duties allowed it in order to scrutinise the snow-covered lands. She remained at her post for hours, her hand on Oathkeepers pommel, her hopeful **sapphire** eyes fixed on a distant point. The Stark sisters looked at her with pity. Both of them knew the truth about Cersei's lie. Sansa had asked Bran about it right away, and the new Three-Eyed-Raven had confirmed that the Queen hadn't commanded her armies to march North. Sansa sensed there was something that Brienne hadn't told her about the Dragonpit meeting, and that something must be related to Jaime Lannister. The elder Stark girl had developed an eye for the heart matters and she was almost positive about Brienne's feelings for the Queen's brother. She wasn't sure about the depth of her bodyguard's affections, but the Maid could never avoid a little tremor in her voice when she talked about the Lion of Lannister. It was disheartening to see Brienne up there waiting for the man she trusted, the man who would never come.

Arya looked at Sansa and motioned towards Brienne. Yes, perhaps it was time to tell her. Why prolong her agony? It was cruel to let her cherish any more hopes. So the redheaded Stark grabbed her skirt with both hands and lifted it highly enough to climb the stairs comfortably. When she reached her post at the wall, the lady knight bowed her head.

“Lady Sansa, is there anything I could do for you?”

“No, Lady Brienne. I just need to talk to you”, Sansa said with a little sadness in her tone. “Walk with me, please.”

Brienne did as she was told and walked by Sansa's side for a while, waiting for the girl to speak. Finally, the Stark broke the silence. “Lady Brienne, I've been doing some research about what you told me the other day. You must know that my brother Bran is now... a little different. He knows things.”

The Maid frowned at this revelation. “What do you mean?”

“Well, he sees things. I don't know exactly how it works, but it's quite useful when you need to be sure about something.”

“My nursemaid sometimes told me about the greenseers when I couldn't sleep at night, but I always thought it was a legend”, Brienne offered to let her know that she was trying to follow the conversation.

“I think what my brother has become is a little more complicated than that, but I see you get it. Well, what I mean is that I asked him about Cersei's pledge to help us defeat the army of the dead.”

Brienne swallowed. This couldn't be good if Sansa had decided to share it with her. “And?”

“And he confirmed my worst suspicions: Cersei's not sending her armies North. She lied, as she always does.” The Maid of Tarth stopped dead in the middle of the battlements. Her jaw was clenched. Sansa approached her and put a gentle hand on her elbow. “I'm sorry, Lady Brienne. I though you needed to know it.”

Then the Stark girl gave her an understanding look and turned on her heels graciously to climb down the next stairs towards the courtyard. Unable to react, Brienne remained in that position for what seemed like hours, her hand still on her sword's hilt. She didn't want to cry. She needed to hold back her tears, to keep her cool head. She should have known it, it seemed too good to be true. She would never be granted the chance to fight side by side with Jaime Lannister. Brienne had seen his face at the Dragonpit. What was she expecting? Of course Cersei intended to lie to them! And of course her brother would stay by her side for good!

Brienne descended the stairs without really knowing where she was going. She arrived at her room and locked herself inside it. She didn't want to see anyone. Her last hope had vanished right before her eyes in a cruel smoke swirl.

When she emerged from her quarters the next morning, her face was paler, her eyes duller. The ones who knew her well noticed a little change in her movements, in her aura. Everything was less determined in Brienne. She spent the next two days wandering around the castle like a lost soul. Everyone was expectantly waiting for King Jon's and Daenerys Targaryen's promised arrival and the tension could almost be touched. But Brienne didn't wait for anything anymore. She knew she would have to fight the White Walkers, because she had sworn her sword to Lady Sansa, but she would never be able to put her heart into it because it was broken, as if it had been stabbed by a **dragonglass** dagger.

One afternoon, Brienne sat near the sparring yard watching Pod's ass getting kicked by Arya Stark. The girl moved as smoothly as water and as quickly as a lightning. Poor Podrick didn't even have a chance against her. A week before, Brienne would have been giving orders to Pod on how to move or spar, but she wasn't in the mood now. It seemed that nothing could catch her attention anymore.

Suddenly, Samwell Tarly appeared by her side, pushing Bran Stark's modern wheelchair. Then the scholar put a hand on Bran's shoulder, bowed at Brienne and went away towards the castle. They remained silent for a long time. The Maid of Tarth didn't know what to say, because she didn't feel like talking at all. Plus, Bran Stark scared her a little. Both kept their eyes fixed on the fighters, following their movements without saying a single word. Then, all of a sudden, Bran lifted his head and spoke with his apathetic voice.

“He's coming.”

Brienne turned her head towards him with a confused expression. “Sorry, my lord. Who?”

But Bran didn't answer. Then the horn of Winterfell echoed through the walls. It announced the presence of a visitor at the gates, either a friend or a foe. Brienne didn't know why, but she got up immediately. Her heart started hammering against her ribs painfully. She couldn't hear the conversation between the guard and the newcomer, because she was too far from the gates. Slowly, her feet started to walk towards the huge wooden doors of the keep. She was barely aware that Bran Stark called for a servant and instructed him to order the guard to let the visitor in. Said servant ran towards the entrance at full speed and shouted Bran's orders to the knight on the battlements before he even had the chance to announce the stranger's name.

Something inside Brienne told her it was truly him. But she didn't want to believe it until she could see his face. The enormous gates of Winterfell started to creak as they got open and soon they revealed the figure of a rider between the two wooden halves. His long black cloak fell over his horse and his mouth, nose and shoulders were covered by some thick furs. When the crack of the door was wide enough to go through it, the man spurred his animal and got in the courtyard towards Brienne, who was standing right in the middle.

Some people had clustered around to see who was coming to Winterfell. Pod and Arya had put an end to their training to run at the gates, and even Lady Sansa had left her duties to find out why the horn had been blown. The rider allowed his mount to move a little further and then dismounted in front of Brienne. For her, there was no doubt anymore, but still she needed him to take off the furs from his face to see it, that face she had dreamed of so many times.

And he did. With a tired movement of his left hand, the man removed the furs and revealed his famous features to everyone there. Jaime Lannister had arrived at Winterfell.

Some people gasped, others growled. Most of them whispered the word 'Kingslayer' under their breaths with surprise, or fury, or disbelief. Only Brienne remained silent, her blue eyes wide enough to swallow him. Jaime walked hesitantly towards her, his only friend up there in the North. And when he was about to speak, Brienne slapped him in the face. Everyone held their breaths. She didn't hit him hard, because she didn't want to hurt him, but she needed to give vent to all the suffering she had experienced due to his actions at the Dragonpit. Jaime's startled **emerald** eyes stared at her. He knew he didn't deserve that slap, because he had suffered so much as well and nobody had the right to judge him, but deep inside he admitted that Brienne was the only one entitled to do it. He'd been a fool, he'd been completely blind. She should have slapped him before.

Despite her painful welcome, Jaime moved closer to Brienne, because he wanted her to know that she had always been right, that her words had sobered him up at the Dragonpit, that he had changed and that he was finally walking the right path.

“Why are you here?”, Brienne asked with her eyes full of tears. He could see she regreted her impulsive reaction.

Without looking away from her astonishing eyes, Jaime raised his hand a little to touch the **rubies** in the pommel of her **Valyrian steel** sword, that weapon he had given her as a present after their time together on road so long ago. “Because I want to become the man with honour you think I am.”

Brienne's breath faltered at his words and he saw a tear rolling down her freckled cheek before she threw her arms around his neck. Jaime didn't know what had surprised him the most, the slap or the hug. but he wasn't going to complain now. He placed his good arm and his stump on her broad back and pulled her closer to his chest. It was so cold in the North and the wench was so warm... He didn't want to break their embrace for anything in the world. Jaime allowed himself to relax in her arms, but soon he knew it was a mistake, because his legs failed him and both ended up on the ground. He was too tired, too weak. He had barely eaten or slept in more than twenty days on his way North. Jaime heard Brienne's voice calling for help. He felt her hands holding him and combing his hair gently. Before drifting off in her lap, the Lannister thought he heard Brienne say “I knew you would come, my oathkeeper” and then she gave him a light kiss on the forehead.

After that, everything went dark.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for the poor attempt, but I hope it made you a little happier today.
> 
> Thanks for reading! ^^


End file.
